Apparatuses and methods for making ice blocks, such as ice cubes

ABSTRACT

An ice cube mold consists of a flexible body having a first face, a second face and a peripheral edge. A plurality of ice forming cavities are formed in both the first face and the second face. Having ice forming cavities on both faces allows two or more of the ice cube molds to be formed into an assembly. In accordance with a described method, the assembly is inserted into a container, which is flooded with water and then placed in a freezer until the water forms ice in the ice forming cavities.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This document relates to apparatuses and methods for making ice blocks,such as ice cubes.

BACKGROUND

Conventional ice cube molds are designed to be filled with water andplaced in a freezer until the water freezes. Even though the majority ofAmericans enjoy access to a freezer, potable water and inexpensive icecube molds, the inconvenience of using an ice cube mold, and therelatively small amount of ice produced by each mold, has created asituation where consumers purchase millions of bags of ready-made icecubes each year.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect there is provided an ice cube mold whichconsists of a flexible body having a first face, a second face and aperipheral edge, with a plurality of ice forming cavities formed in boththe first face and the second face. This aspect of having ice formingcavities on both faces allows two or more of the ice cube molds to beformed into an assembly capable of making a larger volume of ice cubesthan can be made with an ice cube mold.

In the preferred embodiment that will hereinafter be described, bottomsof the ice forming cavities in the first face define spacer panelsbetween cavities on the second face and bottoms of the ice formingcavities on the second face define spacer panels between cavities on thesecond face. This is a very space efficient manner of forming an icecube mold with cavities on both faces.

In the preferred embodiment that will hereinafter be described, iceforming cavities with an open side are formed along at least a portionof the peripheral edge. The open side is closed when the ice cube moldis formed into an assembly and inserted into a container, as willhereafter be described.

According to another aspect there is provided an ice cube mold assemblywhich is formed by placing at least two of the ice cube molds in face toface relation. The ice forming cavities of a first ice cube mold in theassembly are aligned with the ice forming cavities of a second ice cubemold, which is adjacent to the first ice cube mold. The ice formingcavities of the first ice cube mold form a first half of a plurality ofcumulative ice cube compartments and the ice forming cavities of thesecond ice cube mold form a second half of the cumulative ice cubecompartments. Gaps between the at least two ice cube molds allow entryof water and exit of air from the cumulative ice cube compartments. Awater retaining container receives the assembly in close fittingrelation.

When the ice cube mold has ice forming cavities with an open side formedalong at least a portion of the peripheral edge, as described above, theopen side of the ice forming cavities are closed by the water retainingcontainer.

According to a final aspect, there is provided a method of forming icecubes. One step involves providing a plurality of ice cube molds asdescribed above with each ice cube mold comprising a flexible bodyhaving a first face, a second face and a peripheral edge. The key aspectbeing a plurality of ice forming cavities formed in both the first faceand the second face. One step involves forming an ice cube mold assemblyby placing at least two of the ice cube molds in face to face relation.The ice forming cavities of a first ice cube mold are aligned with theice forming cavities of a second ice cube mold, which is facing thefirst ice cube mold, with the ice forming cavities of the first ice cubemold forming a first half of a plurality of cumulative ice cubecompartments and the ice forming cavities of the second ice cube moldforming a second half of the cumulative ice cube compartments. Gapsbetween the at least two ice cube molds allow entry of water and exit ofair from the cumulative ice cube compartments. One step involvesinserting the ice cube mold assembly into a water retaining containerthat accommodates the assembly in close fitting relation. One stepinvolves filling the container with water. One step involves placing thecontainer holding the assembly in a freezer until the water freezes. Onestep involves removing the assembly from the container. A final stepinvolves disassembling the assembly to release ice cubes which haveformed from the cumulative ice cube compartments.

Where the ice cube molds in the ice cube mold assembly have pull tabsformed along at least a portion of the peripheral edge, disassembly ofthe ice cube mold assembly can be effected by applying a pulling forceon the pull tab of one of the ice cube molds to separate the ice cubemold from the assembly.

There are further features that will hereinafter be described in thedetailed description which follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Embodiments will now be described with reference to the figures, inwhich like reference characters denote like elements, by way of example,and in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an ice mold.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the ice mold of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the ice mold of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a rear elevation view of the ice mold of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of the ice mold of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of an ice-making apparatus that has aplurality of molds, a waterproof liner, a structural retainer, and acover.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the ice-making apparatus of FIG. 6 withcomponents in an assembled configuration.

FIG. 7A is a side elevation view of the ice-making apparatus of FIG. 7.

FIG. 7B is a front elevation view of the ice-making apparatus of FIG. 7.

FIG. 8A is a view taken along the 8A-8A section lines of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8B is a view taken along the 8B-8B section lines of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8C is an overlay of the views of FIGS. 8A and 8B.

FIG. 9 is a view taken along the 9-9 section lines of FIG. 7A.

FIG. 9A is a perspective view of the portion of the ice-making apparatusas shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 10 is a view taken along the 10-10 section lines of FIG. 7A.

FIG. 10A is a perspective view of the portion of the ice-makingapparatus as shown in FIG. 10.

FIG. 11 is a view taken along the 11-11 section lines of FIG. 7A.

FIG. 11A is a perspective view of the portion of the ice-makingapparatus as shown in FIG. 11.

FIG. 12 is a view taken along the 12-12 section lines of FIG. 7A.

FIG. 12A is a perspective view of the portion of the ice-makingapparatus as shown in FIG. 12.

FIG. 13 is a view taken along the 13-13 section lines of FIG. 7B.

FIG. 13A is a perspective view of the portion of the ice-makingapparatus as shown in FIG. 13.

FIG. 14 is a view taken along the 14-14 section lines of FIG. 7B.

FIG. 14A is a perspective view of the portion of the ice-makingapparatus as shown in FIG. 14.

FIG. 15 is a view taken along the 15-15 section lines of FIG. 7B.

FIG. 15A is a perspective view of the portion of the ice-makingapparatus as shown in FIG. 15.

FIG. 16 is a view taken along the 16-16 section lines of FIG. 7B.

FIG. 16A is a perspective view of the portion of the ice-makingapparatus as shown in FIG. 16.

FIG. 17 is a view taken along the 17-17 section lines of FIG. 7B.

FIG. 17A is a perspective view of the portion of the ice-makingapparatus as shown in FIG. 17.

FIG. 18 is a front elevation view of a further embodiment of anice-making apparatus with tapered gripping tabs.

FIG. 18A is a view taken along the 18A-18A section lines of FIG. 18.

FIG. 18B is a view taken along the 18B-18B section lines of FIG. 18.

FIG. 18C is a view taken along the 18C-18C section lines of FIG. 18.

FIG. 19 is a side elevation view of the ice-making apparatus of FIG. 18.

FIG. 19A is a view taken along the 19A-19A section lines of FIG. 19.

FIG. 20 is a front perspective view of an ice mold of the ice-makingapparatus of FIG. 18.

FIG. 21 is a front elevation view of the ice mold of FIG. 20.

FIG. 22 is a side elevation view of the ice mold of FIG. 20.

FIG. 23 is a bottom plan view of the ice mold of FIG. 20.

FIG. 24 is a perspective of a low cost retainer for a low cost ice cubemold assembly, in a collapsed condition.

FIG. 25 is a perspective view of the low cost retainer for the low costice cube mold assembly of FIG. 24 in an operative condition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 5, an ice cube mold, generally identifiedby reference numeral 12 is illustrated. Ice cube mold 12 consists of aflexible body 13 having a first face 12B, a second face 12C and aperipheral edge consisting of first side 12F, second side 12G, sideedges 12H, top 12P and base 12M. A plurality of ice forming cavities 12Aare formed in both first face 12B and second face 12C. Bottoms 121 ofice forming cavities 12A in first face 12B define spacer panels betweenice forming cavities 12A on second face 12C. Bottoms 121 of ice formingcavities 12A on second face 12C define spacer panels between ice formingcavities 12A on the first face 12B. Each of ice forming cavities 12A istapered with decreasing width when moving from a width 12L of an accessopening 12J of each ice forming cavity 12A to a width 12K at the bottom121 of each ice forming cavities 12A. Ice forming cavities 12A with anopen side 15 are formed along that portion of the peripheral edgeidentified as side edges 12H and base 12M. A pull tab 26 is formed alongthat portion of the peripheral edge identified as top 12P. Furtheraspects of ice mold 12 will be described below.

Referring to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, an ice cube mold assembly 10 isillustrated. Referring to FIG. 9, ice cube molds 12 are placed in faceto face relation to form the assembly. The ice forming cavities 12A of afirst ice cube mold 12′ are aligned with the ice forming cavities 12A ofa second ice cube mold 12″, which is adjacent to first ice cube mold12′. Ice forming cavities 12A of first ice cube mold 12′ form a firsthalf of a plurality of cumulative ice cube compartments, identified byreference numeral 12E, and ice forming cavities 12A of second ice cubemold 12″ form a second half of cumulative ice cube compartments 12E. Theterm “compartments” has been used to distinguish over “cavities” andalso because when the two cavities 12A are mated the result is acompartment which is closed, except for gaps 12D provided between icecube mold 12′ and ice cube mold 12″ which allows entry of water and exitof air from cumulative ice cube compartments 12E. Referring to FIG. 6,an apparatus, generally identified by reference numeral 10, is completedby a water retaining container which receives the assembly of iceforming molds 12 in close fitting relation. An inexpensive waterretaining container can be formed by using a water retaining liner 16supported within a structural retainer 14. In addition to beinginexpensive, the use of a water retaining line 16 provides a number ofadvantages, as will hereinafter be described. Referring to FIG. 9, whereice cube mold 12 has ice forming cavities 12A with an open side alongthat portion of peripheral edge 12H, the open side of ice formingcavities 12A are closed by the water retaining container, i.e. waterretaining liner 16 supported within structural retainer 14. Furtheraspects of ice mold 12 and apparatus 10 will be described below.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, an apparatus 10 is disclosed comprising aplurality of stacked submersible molds (for example a plurality of molds12) with a form-fitting receptacle (an example of a structural retainer14) and a consumable receptacle liner bag (an example of a waterproofliner 16) for the purpose of molding water or other fluids into icecubes. The plurality of molds 12 may stack within the waterproof linerto define a plurality of ice compartments 12E. Apparatus 10 may be usedto make low cost bulk ice blocks, such as ice cubes, in a consumer-levelfreezer. Apparatus 10 may have a compact shape and may produce bulk icecubes in a more convenient and space-efficient fashion than with acommon ice cube mold or molds. The apparatus 10 may be sized to produceas much ice as a standard store-bought bag of ice. Apparatus 10 may haveroughly the same foot print in a freezer as, while producing as much orrelatively more ice cubes than, a stack of conventional ice cube molds.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, apparatus 10 may be prepared for use byplacing the receptacle liner 16 into the retainer 14. The molds 12 maybe stacked together and placed into the lined form-fitting retainer 14.Molds 12 may be oriented to define a plurality of ice compartments 12E.Retainer 14 may hold the molds 12 together with slight compression. Insome cases, molds 12 may be placed in liner 16 first and molds 12 andliner 16 are then placed into retainer 14.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 9A, water may be poured, for example in adirection 22 into the liner 16 within retainer 14 to immerse, forexample submerge, the molds 12. The water lever will not exceed a fillline 20 below a rim 14D of the retainer 14, as otherwise there is adanger water will overflow retainer 14. Where the mold is equipped withpull tabs, the water lever will not cover the pull tabs, as the pulltabs must be accessed in order to pull molds 12 away from other moldsmaking up an assembly to recover the ice cubes formed. Gaps 12D betweenadjacent molds allow air to escape and water to fill all icecompartments 12E. Gaps 12D may be intentionally made in the form ofsmall vent slots or holes or other openings. However, gaps 12D maysimply be present due to a loose fitting engagement between molds 12.What would not be desirable, would be to have molds 12 interlock in sucha tight manner than a seal was formed between the molds which preventedentry of water and exit of air. Liner 16 may contain between 2.2 and 3.2liters of water, to produce roughly the size of a standardconsumer-level bag of ice cubes. The access opening 16B may be sealed. Acover 30 (such as a lid as shown in FIG. 6) if present may be placed onrim 14D of retainer 14. Apparatus 10 may be placed in a freezer to lowerthe temperature of apparatus 10 and freeze the water in the plurality ofice compartments 12E to form a plurality of ice blocks. Water spillagemay be less likely to occur during filling, transporting or placement ofthe apparatus 10 in the freezer. There may be no need to fill theapparatus 10 as close to the rim 14D of the retainer 14 as is requiredwith a common ice cube mold.

Referring to FIG. 6, after completion of a water freezing cycle,apparatus 10 can be removed from the freezer to de-mold the plurality ofice blocks. Liner 16 containing the plurality of ice blocks and molds 12may be removed from the retainer 14. With the liner 16 still holding theplurality of ice blocks, molds 12 and liner 16 may be tapped on a solidsurface causing the molds 12 and liner 16 to separate from the iceblocks. The ice cubes may be removed from the molds 12 in the liner 16by separating the molds 12 from one another, leaving liner 16 full ofice cubes. The retainer liner 16 or the retainer 14 or both may be usedto store the ice cubes for use. During the ice de-molding process, allice cubes and ice particles may be conveniently contained within theliner 16.

Referring to FIGS. 1-5, each mold 12 may define cavities, such asrecesses 12A that form ice compartments 12E. Recesses 12A may be presenton opposed faces of mold 12, for example a first face 12B, and a secondface 12C. Recesses 12A may be defined on one or more of opposed faces12B, 12C or sides 12F, 12G, of mold 12. In some cases, mold 12 definesrecesses 12A on one face only, for example first face 12B, and may havea flat profile on the reverse side, for example second face 12C, of eachrespective mold 12. Recesses 12A may be defined along side edges 12H ofmold 12. Some of the plurality of recesses 12A of each mold may open toone or more of the sides, such as a first side 12F, second side 12G ofside edges 12H of the mold 12.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 9A, recesses 12A of each mold 12 in a pluralityof molds may form or define ice compartments 12E. Recesses 12A may formice compartments 12E with one or both of adjacent molds 12 and liner 16.Recesses 12A of mold 12 may align to define ice compartments 12E thatspan across adjacent molds 12. In the example shown, ice compartment 12Espans across recesses 12A of a first mold 12′ to aligned recesses 12A ofsecond mold 12″. Referring to FIGS. 8A-C and 13-17, recesses 12A in afirst side 12F, may be arranged in a checkerboard pattern, and in somecases the pattern is the inverse of a checkerboard pattern of recessesin a second side 12G. The recesses 12A of the checkerboard pattern ofside 12F (FIG. 8A) may align with the recesses 12A of the inversecheckerboard pattern of side 12G (FIG. 8B) to form ice compartments 12E.Referring to FIGS. 9-12, ice compartments 12E may be arranged to form ahoneycomb-like configuration. Ice compartments 12E may be arranged insuch a fashion to maximize the number and volume of compartments 12E andother patterns may be used.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, recesses 12A may be designed to producevarious ice cube shapes that are able to be de-molded. Referring to FIG.3, recesses 12A may be tapered with decreasing width when moving from anaccess opening 12J to a base 121 of the recess 12A. In the exampleshown, width 12K of base 121 is smaller than width 12L of the opening12J, which gives recess 12A a tapered shape. Tapering recess 12A mayreduce the retention of ice blocks within recess 12A after removal fromthe liner 16 and retainer 14. Other shapes of recesses 12A may be used,for example shaped to form ice tubes, cubes, spheres, stars, and others.

Referring to FIGS. 12 and 12A, molds 12 may be stacked either vertically(not pictured) or horizontally (shown). Molds 12 may stack face-to-facerelative to one another, for example with first face 12B of mold 12″stacked against second face 12C of an adjacent mold 12′. Each mold 12may stand upright on side edges 12H within the stack. Each mold 12 maystack such that first face 12B and second face 12C of adjacent molds 12face in lateral directions, such as directions 32. Referring to FIGS. 4and 5, each mold or mold 12 may be tapered with decreasing lateral widthwhen moving towards a base 12M of mold 12. For example, a lateral width12N′ of mold 12 near a top 12P of mold 12 may be greater than a lateralwidth 12N″ of mold 12 near the base 12M. Each mold 12 or mold may havethe peripheral shape of an isosceles trapezoid.

Referring to FIG. 7, ice compartments 12E may form a fluid network. Icecompartments 12E may be in fluid communication with an access opening16B such as a top access opening defined by the waterproof liner 16.When the plurality of molds 12 are added to the liner 16 and retainer14, water may be added by a suitable method, such as pouring from acontainer or tap, into the top access opening 16B. The water may thentraverse the fluid network to fill the plurality of ice compartments 12Ewhile the molds 12 are in the stacked configuration. Referring to FIGS.10 and 10A, water may travel between ice compartments 12E via gaps 12Dbetween the molds 12 within a stack. Gaps 12D may be defined at theinterface of two molds 12. Gaps 12D may permit the escape of air fromcompartments 12E during filling. The fluid network may allow the fillingof the plurality of compartments 12E during submerging of a stack ofmolds 12 in water.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 6, the plurality of molds 12 may comprisefinger grip parts, such as a pull tab 26, for removing each mold 12, andin some cases for separating adjacent molds 12 within a stack. Each mold12 within a stack may comprise a pull tab 26. Pull tab 26 may provide ahandle for a user to grip and separate molds 12, which may be otherwisedifficult to separate after freezing. The molds 12 may be separated fromone another by a user applying a pulling force on the pull tab 26 of therespective mold 12. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 18A, each pull tab 26 maybe spaced or offset from closely adjacent or abutting pull tabs 26 onadjacent molds 12 to decrease the effort required to grip and remove themold 12. Referring to FIG. 4, pull tab 26 may extend along the top 12Pof mold 12, rising above the ice compartments 12E of the mold 12. Asshown in FIGS. 6 and 7, pull tabs 26 may comprise a plurality of pulltabs 28, for example mounted adjacent or at opposing side edges of mold12. Pull tabs 28 may comprise ridges or grooves 28A to increase frictionbetween the tab 28 and a user's finger, to decrease the effort requiredto grip molds 12. As previously described, pull tabs 26 should projectabove the water line once the molds are immersed in the water.

Referring to FIGS. 18-23, pull tab 26 may have a tapered shape.Referring to FIG. 18A, pull tab 26 may be tapered with decreasingheight, for example as shown by comparing heights 36, 38 when movingfrom opposed sides 12Q and 12R of pull tab 26. Referring to FIGS. 18Aand 19A, the plurality of molds 12 may be arranged in pairs, for examplethe pair of molds 12′ and 12″ shown, with the pull tabs 26′, 26″ of eachrespective mold abutting (shown) or closely adjacent to one another whenin the stacked configuration. Referring to FIG. 18A, a top edge 26B ofeach pull tab of the pair may be tapered, for example with increasingheight, in an opposite lateral direction as the top edge 26B of theother pull tab of the pair. Each pull tab 26 of the pair may define afinger gripping part 26A that does not overlap with the other pull tabof the pair, for example the finger gripping part 26A of the other pulltab. Tapered pull tabs 26 may be staggered to offset the extended parts26A from one another. Offsetting may decrease the effort required togrip and separate molds 12. Extended end or part 26A may extend past aperimeter rim 14D of retainer 14.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, retainer 14 may have a suitable structure.Retainer 14 may form a housing 14J that has side walls 14B and a base14A. Side walls 14B may be tapered. Side walls 14B of housing 14J may betapered with a decreasing lateral width when moving toward base 14A. Forexample, lateral width of the side wall portion of the perimeter rim 14Dis greater than the width 14G of base 14A. Walls 14B may be tapered withrespect to a plane 14E defined as being perpendicular to base 14A. Walls14B may be angled from plane 14E with a suitable taper angle 14F, forexample 5°, 10° and others. Side walls 14B may form mold bearingsurfaces, which may be made of a bearing material selected to have acoefficient of friction less than or equal to 0.2 (for example 0.12 or0.07 for nylon and UHMWPE, respectively), for example less than or equalto 0.1, in relation to steel. Polytetrafluoroethylene (TEFLON™) may beused to form the structural retainer. Coefficients of kinetic frictionmay be determined according to a standardized test, for example ASTMD1894. Kinetic friction is the resistance to sliding of one surface overanother once those surfaces are in relative motion. Side walls 14B maybe lubricated to decrease the friction between the inner surface of sidewall 14B and mold 12 to decrease the effort required to remove the liner16 and plurality of molds 12. In some cases, retainer 14 compriseshinges (not pictured) to open up side walls 14B and provide access toliner 16 and molds 12. In some cases, retainer 14 forms a water-tightseal to prevent leaking of water during filling. Referring to FIG. 18A,an interior surface of retainer 14 may have suitable radii or beveling,such as coves 14K, to assist in release of side walls 14B.

Apparatus 10 may be made to function without the use of consumable liner16. For example, the retainer 14 may be made to itself form a waterproofliner. The apparatus 10 may be made using a retainer made of a materiallike silicone or similar material that does not stick to the productbeing molded or by coating the retainer with a release agent ornon-stick coating or hydrophobic coating. The retainer may form a rigidstructure, or may be a bag, or flexible or resilient part.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 12, the access opening 16B may be configured toclose, for example seal, to retain water within the liner 16. Liner 16may comprise a commercially available bag, for example a ZIPLOC™ bagthat forms a seal 16A when closed. Opening 16B may be defined by firstand second opposed sides 16C, 16D of liner 16. Referring to FIG. 12,first and second opposed sides 16C, 16D may be lined with a groove 16Eand ridge 16F, respectively, that interlock to form seal 16A whenpressed together. Liner 16 may form a seal by a slide element (notshown) that slides along the bag to seal the groove 16E and ridge 16F,respectively. A zipper, tie, string, cable, or other mechanism may beused to form a suitable seal or otherwise sufficiently close the bag.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, apparatus 10 may comprise a retainer orretainer cover 30 mounted on an access opening 14L of the retainer 14. Asuitable lid or other type of cover 30 may fit by a suitable mechanism,such as a friction fit, latch, ridge and groove, or other mechanism.

Apparatus 10 may comprise a mold connector, for example a part thatintegrally or otherwise connects adjacent molds. In one case an entireplurality of molds may be integrally connected and folded, for examplein an accordion fashion, to produce the stack within the retainer 14.Each mold 12 within the plurality of molds may be connected end-to-endto form a chain of molds 12.

The plurality of molds 12 may be made of a suitable material, such assilicone, that maintains flexibility at suitable subzero temperatures,such as −8° C., −18° C. and others. Retainer 14 may be made of asuitable material, such as plastic or metal. Liner 16 may be made of asuitable material, such as polyethylene film plastic. Other solids orfluids may be molded with apparatus 10, for example wax, JELL-O™,chocolate, plaster, plastic and others. Tapered shapers may incorporateone or more of straight, curved, or more complex profiles.

Apparatus 10 may provide a suitable alternative to the common ice mold,producing ice in relatively larger quantities, with less effort, time,and hassle. Pull tabs may be located on the sides or base of the mold.

During the development of a commercial embodiment of the presentinvention, it was determined that in order for the invention to havecommercial success the cost would have to be reduced. This resulted inexperimenting with low cost materials. The science of hydrophobictreatments has advanced markedly in the last number of years. Firstly itwas determined that by using hydrophobic treatments, lower costmaterials could be used. Instead of using silicone for molds 12, it ispossible to use a less expense material that can be formed with lessexpensive molding processes such as thermoplastic elastomers (TPE)treated with or containing hydrophobic chemicals.

A major item of expense was retainer 14. For that reason, much effortwas expended to arrive at a lower cost retainer. Referring to FIG. 24and FIG. 25, there is disclosed retainer 200, shown in an operativecondition in FIG. 25 and in a collapsed condition in FIG. 24. Referringto FIG. 24, retainer 200 has a flexible body 202. In order to keep costdown flexible body 202 is made from fabric. Flexible body 202 has acentral portion 204 surrounded by appendages 206, 208, 210, and 212.Appendages 206, 208, 210, and 212 are movable between a collapsedposition laying on a common plane relative to central portion 204, asillustrated in FIG. 24, and an operative position extending verticallyrelative to central portion 204 to provide containment, as illustratedin FIG. 25. Referring to FIG. 24, each of appendages 206, 208, 210, and212 have rectangular pockets 214 in which are positioned rectangularstiffeners 216. Opposed appendages 206 and 210 are rectangular and formone pair of opposed sides of retainer 200. Opposed appendage 208 and 212are have flexible side wings 218 that extend beyond rectangular pockets214. Referring to FIG. 25, flexible wings 218 wrap around and captureopposed appendages 206 and 210 when retainer 200 is in the operativeposition. A wrap around tie strap 220 secures the four appendages 206,208, 210 and 212 together to maintain retainer 200 in the operativeposition.

In use, retainer 200 is positioned around an assembly of molds 12 whichare positioned in a plastic bag liner. Plastic bag line is then filledwith water and retainer 200 is placed in a freezer. After a sufficienttime interval to allow the water to turn to ice, retainer is removedfrom the freezer. Tie strap 220 is then loosened and appendages 206,208, 210 and 212 moved to the collapsed position, to facilitate removalof molds.

In the claims, the word “comprising” is used in its inclusive sense anddoes not exclude other elements being present. The indefinite articles“a” and “an” before a claim feature do not exclude more than one of thefeature being present. Each one of the individual features describedhere may be used in one or more embodiments and is not, by virtue onlyof being described here, to be construed as essential to all embodimentsas defined by the claims.

The scope of the claims should not be limited by the illustratedembodiments set forth as examples, but should be given the broadestinterpretation consistent with a purposive construction of the claims inview of the description as a whole.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:
 1. An ice cube mold,comprising: a flexible body having a first face, a second face and aperipheral edge, with a plurality of ice forming cavities formed in boththe first face and the second face.
 2. The ice cube mold of claim 1,wherein bottoms of the ice forming cavities in the first face definespacer panels between cavities on the second face and bottoms of the iceforming cavities on the second face define spacer panels betweencavities on the second face.
 3. The ice cube mold of claim 1, whereinice forming cavities with an open side are formed along at least aportion of the peripheral edge.
 4. The ice cube mold of claim 1, whereina pull tab is formed along at least a portion of the peripheral edge. 5.The ice cube mold of claim 1, wherein each of the cavities is taperedwith decreasing width when moving from an access opening of each cavityto a bottom of each cavity.
 6. The ice cube mold of claim 1, wherein theflexible body maintain flexibility at temperatures below minus eighteendegrees Celsius.
 7. The ice cube mold of claim 6, wherein the flexiblebody is made of silicone.
 8. An ice cube mold, comprising: a flexiblebody having a first face, a second face and a peripheral edge, with aplurality of ice forming cavities formed in both the first face and thesecond face, bottoms of the ice forming cavities in the first facedefining spacer panels between cavities on the second face and bottomsof the ice forming cavities on the second face define spacer panelsbetween cavities on the second face, each of the cavities is taperedwith decreasing width when moving from an access opening of each cavityto a bottom of each cavity, ice forming cavities with an open side beingformed along at least a portion of the peripheral edge and a pull tabbeing formed along at least a portion of the peripheral edge.
 9. An icecube mold assembly, comprising: at least two of the ice cube molds ofclaim 1, placed in face to face relation to form an assembly, the iceforming cavities of a first ice cube mold being aligned with the iceforming cavities of a second ice cube mold, which is adjacent to thefirst ice cube mold, with the ice forming cavities of the first ice cubemold forming a first half of a plurality of cumulative ice cubecompartments and the ice forming cavities of the second ice cube moldforming a second half of the cumulative ice cube compartments, gapsbeing provided between the at least two ice cube molds to allow entry ofwater and exit of air from the cumulative ice cube compartments; a waterretaining container receiving the assembly in close fitting relation.10. The ice cube mold assembly of claim 9, wherein the water retainingcontainer is comprised of a water retaining liner supported within astructural retainer.
 11. The ice cube mold assembly of claim 10, whereinthe water retaining liner is a bag having an access opening, with afirst side and a second side opposed to the first side, the first sideand the second side being lined with at least one groove and at leastone ridge, respectively, the at least one groove and the at least oneridge interlocking to form a seal when the first side and the secondside are pressed together.
 12. The ice cube mold assembly of claim 9,wherein each ice cube mold is supported upright on the peripheral edgewhen the assembly is positioned within water retaining container. 13.The ice cube mold assembly of claim 9, wherein each ice cube mold has apull tab formed along at least a portion of the peripheral edge, thepull tab of each ice cube mold being laterally offset from the pull tabof an adjacent ice cube mold.
 14. The ice cube mold assembly of claim 9,wherein the ice cube molds are arranged in pairs.
 15. The ice cube moldassembly of claim 9, wherein each ice cube mold has ice forming cavitieswith an open side formed along at least a portion of the peripheraledge, the open side of the ice forming cavities being closed by thewater retaining container.
 16. The ice cube mold assembly of claim 9,wherein a cover closes an access opening of the water retainingcontainer.
 17. The ice cube mold assembly of claim 9, wherein the waterretaining container is comprised of a flexible body having a centralportion surrounded by appendages, the appendages being movable between acollapsed position laying on a common plane relative to the centralportion and an operative position extending vertically relative to thecentral portion to provide containment.
 18. The ice cube mold assemblyof claim 17, wherein there are four appendages configured in two pairsof opposed appendages and one of the two pairs of opposed appendageshave lateral wings which cover gaps between the appendages.
 19. The icecube mold assembly of claim 17, wherein a tie strap maintains theappendages in the operative position.
 20. A method of forming ice cubes,comprising: providing a plurality of ice cube molds, each ice cube moldcomprising a flexible body having a first face, a second face and aperipheral edge, with a plurality of ice forming cavities formed in boththe first face and the second face; forming an ice cube mold assembly byplacing at least two of the ice cube molds in face to face relation, theice forming cavities of a first ice cube mold being aligned with the iceforming cavities of a second ice cube mold, which is facing the firstice cube mold, with the ice forming cavities of the first ice cube moldforming a first half of a plurality of cumulative ice cube compartmentsand the ice forming cavities of the second ice cube mold forming asecond half of the cumulative ice cube compartments, gaps being providedbetween the at least two ice cube molds to allow entry of water and exitof air from the cumulative ice cube compartments; inserting the ice cubemold assembly into a water retaining container that accommodate theassembly in close fitting relation; filling the container with water;placing the container holding the assembly in a freezer until the waterfreezes; removing the assembly from the container; and disassembling theassembly to release ice cubes which have formed from the cumulative icecube compartments.